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3/23/09

Hoax: Secret-ballot provision in EFCA ... It should correctly be called The Employee No Choice Act. Advocates of this terrible bill want you to believe that this act puts the decision with the individual employees on whether or not to have a secret ballot election, and this is a blatant lie......allow me to explain, in the easiest to understand way possible. Nothing in the proposed legislation gives the workers any choice over which organizing method is used....that's left up to the union officials to decide. Organized labor's well documented preference for the card-check recognition method makes it clear that they would never choose the private election method. Union literature obtained from the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, the New England Nurses Association and the Service Employees International Union openly state that they would never call for an election unless they have collected signatures from a "super-majority" of workers (75%). The reason for this is that they know, from experience, that workers who sign in front of an organizer often vote "no" once they are in the privacy of a voting booth. I hope this clears up the issue a little bit. There is a daily poster who is putting forth the misleading perception that employees would decide whether or not to hold private elections, when in fact the decision rests with the union organizers. (jacksonville.com)

Absolute power corrupts absolutely ... In a move that would have seemed both unconscionable and unbelievable less than a year ago, the Obama Administration has announced that it will effectively decide the monetary executive compensation for ALL banks and Wall Street firms and is looking toward regulating it in other industries, also. In other words, after a highly successful campaign of switching the blame for the current global financial crisis to others, Obama’s government (which no longer belongs to We-the-People) will effectively take over banks and Wall Street—whether they have taken “bail-out” funds or not. Obama’s government has also indicated it is interested in insurance companies. The announcement of other firms to be taken over by Obama and his Democrat-run Congress will apparently come very soon. Will your industry and/or company be next? Note: The liberal Republican elite are not much—if any—better. But, this fiasco—that has been successfully if not truthfully been transferred to AIG—was started, is being continued and even encouraged by Democrats. By its very nature, absolute power knows no limits. (webcommentary.com)

Anti-business Sentiment Rules D.C. ... The so-called Employee Free Choice Act makes about as much sense as a poke in the eye with a sharp stick. The timing is atrocious with our economy stalled. It’s not about any freedom of choice, but muscle in the marketplace, making it easier for labor unions to sign up new members. Unions would gain a tremendous advantage under the bill, allowing them to coerce workers on and off the work site to sign them up for union representation. The basic principle of federal labor law is not unionism at all costs, but the right of workers to choose whether they want to affiliate with a union. That means a secret ballot without a union organizer or the employer looking over a worker’s shoulder as they vote. It would hamstring all businesses, especially small business owners and entrepreneurs. Arkansas has some advantages in attracting new employers and jobs to the state. We are concerned that advantage will disappear with this legislation. With businesses large and small shedding jobs every day, this legislation won’t save any jobs. Ask members of the United Auto Workers union just how secure they feel about their jobs. If Congress adopts the union-backed proposal, we believe more unions will be certified and more workers will receive pink slips. We need more jobs, not fewer opportunities for employment. (joplinglobe.com)

Obama's Perestroika flunks early tests ... Nobody should want any United States President to succeed on every agenda item he tries to pass. For me my President should fail when he tries to mirror the actions of Hugo Chávez. He should fail when he tries to implement the policies of anti-Semitic, anti-Christian bigots at the New York Times. He should fail when he seeks to negotiate with “moderate” terrorists (AKA - murderers, thugs and enemies of America that have killed many of our men women and children). He should fail when he plans to use tax payer money to bail out corporate entities that stand no chance of success because their business models suck. He should fail when he initiates a cap and trade system that will raise taxes on all Americans based on the false claims of idiot Global Warming activists. I don’t want my President to succeed when he declares that the war on terror is a failure when it isn’t. My President should fail when he cancels voucher programs that allows kids to seek better schools because the ones their government set up are failing them. My President should fail when he passes executive orders based on lies about Stem Cell research, lumping embryonic stem cell research into an exclusive category as if adult stem cell research isn’t every bit as promising, if not more promising, less risky and a perfectly viable moral alternative. These are all fail worthy offenses. Americans should tell their President no, not in my name, when he acts like a dictator instead of a leader. We should hope for failure on each of these radical agenda items and every radical one that precedes or follows them. We are not obligated to stand by silently. We should do just the opposite. This is why we have the right to free speech. (watcherofweasels.org)

News Union protects readers from anti-socialism ... Hmm. Maybe if a Lady Godiva were to have shown up in Ridgefield, the Connecticut Post might have noticed a Tea Party protest that was 7 times as large as the “protest” the newspaper devoted most of its Sunday Page One to. Not that after 30+ years in this business that I know anything about newspapers. I mean, after all, I do not think that the most important news story in the state of Connecticut would be the agitprop theater of federally financed lefties (ACORN takes grants) protesting executive salaries. That involved 40 people including some from Washington. This is what they do for a living. They are professionals. AP originally reported the reporters and news crews outnumbered the Paid Protesters 2-to-1. The Conn Post gave this item two big pictures, a main story, and a side story. Buried inside was a story of 300 people in Ridgefield staging a Tea Party against the entire $700 billion bailout and the subsequent $787 billion stimulus. An actual grassroots movement was brushed off with “Tea Party’ protests spending to stimulate economy.” (blogs.dailymail.com)

USPS: Alleged embezzler acted alone ... A U.S. Postal Service worker has been charged with stealing more than $600,000 in stamps from the post office in Elkridge where he worked, federal court documents revealed. Postal inspectors were led to Marvin Foster after starting an investigation into Kyle Mathias, who allegedly was selling Forever Stamps on eBay for less than their face value, the inspectors wrote in a sworn statement. Mathias has been charged with conspiring with Foster to sell the stolen stamps. As the investigation proceeded, the inspectors learned that from at least January 2007 through December 2008, a pattern of thefts of stamps at the Elkridge Post Office had emerged, the statement said. According to the statement: On Dec. 1, the inspectors placed a hidden camera in the stamp stock room at Elkridge. Three days later at 2:10 a.m., Foster appeared on camera stealing nine bricks of Forever Stamps valued at $7,560. He appeared again Dec. 8 when he filled a sack with an unknown number of stamps. An audit of the Elkridge Post Office found that between August and Dec. 9, a total of $497,000 in stamps had been stolen, the statement said. As a window clerk, Foster had keys granting him access to the building and the storage rooms, the statement said. Between mid-December and March, $130,000 more in stamps disappeared from the office. Since 2000, Mathias has received $676,264 in his Paypal account from eBay transactions, the statement said. In 2008 and thus far in 2009, Mathias has not reported an income. “His only source of income appears to be the sale of goods on eBay, which includes U.S. postal stamps,” the inspectors wrote. Mathias and Foster were released on their own recognizance after being arrested Wednesday. Mathias’ attorney, Joseph Lyons, declined to comment Friday. Both Foster, reached at his home in the Baltimore area, and a Postal Service spokesman said Foster still worked for the agency, but declined further comment.(washingtonexaminer.com)

Congress owned by anti-business union bigs ... Congress is preparing to debate a bill that is not only anti-business, but also anti-worker. It’s ironically named the “Employee Free Choice Act,” (EFCA), and the only winners, if this bill is passed, are big labor unions. Isn’t it ironic that labor unions feel that in order to represent more workers, they must take away such a fundamental American right from those workers? Even long-time labor union supporters like George McGovern agree the bill goes too far: “Under EFCA, workers could lose the freedom to express their will in private, the right to make a decision without anyone peering over their shoulder, free from fear of reprisal.” (flatheadbeacon.com)

Post-Constitutional Order: AFL-CIO undeterred by U.S. Supreme Court ... The Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld an Idaho law that bans cities, counties and school districts from allowing payroll deductions for a union's political activities, a blow to labor's political fundraising in that state. Five labor unions and the Idaho state AFL-CIO had successfully challenged part of the law in the lower federal courts, saying the state's decision in 2003 to force local governments to eliminate a payroll deduction for political activities violated the First Amendment. But "Idaho's law does not restrict political speech, but rather declines to promote that speech by allowing public employee checkoff for political activities," Chief Justice John Roberts said in the majority opinion. Before 2003, Idaho employers could authorize both a payroll deduction for union dues and one for union political activities through a political action committee. But the state legislature in 2003 passed the Voluntary Contributions Act, which prohibits payroll deductions for political activities. (detnews.com)

Groundhog Day in March: SEIU rolls The Governator ... again ... After months of intense bargaining in the shadow of California's financial crisis, the largest state employee union has ratified a new contract that includes gains and concessions, including one furlough day per month. Service Employees International Union Local 1000 said 91 percent of its dues-paying members voted in favor of the contract, though it did not provide vote totals. It now goes to the Legislature, which must pass it before it moves on for signature by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Local 1000 represents 95,000 employees, nearly half the state government work force, excluding California's public university and college systems. Saturday's outcome was widely anticipated as a bellwether for nearly a dozen other state employee unions. Most have been without a contract since last summer or longer. The state's shriveling finances during the economic recession – and moves by Schwarzenegger to conserve cash – have complicated talks. (sacbee.com)

International Collectivism

Latin leftists expand reach ... Will El Salvador become another Venezuelan-Cuban peon in the region, tilting Central America further to the left? There are five reasons why, despite the victory of a hard-line former guerrilla group in El Salvador’s elections, we shouldn’t automatically expect a radical shift to the left. While Funes is a moderate, the FMLN is one of the most radical leftist parties in Latin America. Funes’ running mate Salvador Sánchez Céren was the FMLN’s commanding general − and according to his foes, one of its bloodiest commanders − during the 1980s civil war, and the entire FMLN bloc in Congress is made up of hard-liners closely tied to Venezuela and Cuba. Still, there are several reasons to believe that Funes will not be able to follow the script of Venezuela’s narcissist-Leninist President Hugo Chávez or his followers in Bolivia and Ecuador, who after winning elections focused their energies on changing their countries’ constitutions to be able to stay in power indefinitely. (stabroeknews.com)

Rainbow Tour joins progressive Arabs, Chávistas ... Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez will travel to Qatar at the end of March for a summit of leaders from South America and Arab countries. Chávez says he will also visit Iran as part of his tour for the March 31 summit in Doha, Qatar. During his decade in office, Chavez has built close ties with Iran and other Middle Eastern nations. The Venezuelan leader said on state television Saturday that his trip would take him "possibly to Japan and other countries." Venezuelan Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez has said Chávez is scheduled to travel to Japan on April 6. (iht.com)

Alinsky Nation.

Leftwing political payback

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"A nation can survive its fools and even the ambitious. But it cannot survive treason from within. An enemy at the gates is less formidable for he is known and he carries his banners openly. But the traitor moves among those within the gates freely, his sly whispers rustling through all the alleys, heard in the very halls of government itself. For the traitor appears no traitor; he speaks in the accents familiar to his victims, and he wears their face and their garments, and he appeals to the baseness that lies deep in the hearts of all men. He rots the soul of a nation; he works secretly and unknown in the night to undermine the pillars of a city; he infects the body politic so that it can no longer resist. A murderer is less to be feared." — Cicero, 106 BC-43 BC